Thursday, 1 October 2015

The 19th Syrian: The asylum seeker the Australian Government convinced to return to a war zone

' "I was worried when I get to Syria to be killed or put in jail, and this is what happened. As soon as I get to Damascus I was 20 days in jail," he said. He was singled out by government officials when he landed in Damascus - his home village marking him as a dissenter. Eyad said for 20 days he was tortured by Syrian government intelligence officers, who had found the cash given to him by the Australian Government and accused him of being a financier of the Syrian revolution. "They hit me on my face and on my back, on my chest," he said. Eyad was released and made the dangerous journey back to his hometown and his family. His house had been destroyed and his wife injured. "Every day those Syrian planes come to our area ... those times they throw four barrels of explosives and they are killing children and you can watch the news and see for yourself," he said. "One day I am expecting myself to be killed or arrested," he said. "In Syria, there are two sects. Either you are a killer or you are the killed person." '